Joyce Tribble walked into the Norfolk office one day in 2011 and asked if we ever needed volunteers in the office. Joyce’s husband, Sonny, had Alzheimer’s and had died a little more than a year before she came in. Joyce soon became a dependable weekly volunteer at the front desk, answering the phone, filing, putting together mailings, and performing other clerical duties with good humor and care. When she started volunteering with the Association, Joyce didn’t own any purple clothing or jewelry. Soon, however, she began adding pieces to her wardrobe, and whenever she volunteered she would wear one of her purple tops or some of her purple rings and bracelets. Joyce had worked as a bookkeeper for years, and she loved counting money, so she volunteered every year to help count money in the office after the largest Walk to End Alzheimer’s events. A member of the Sherry’s Strutters team for the Virginia Beach Walk for three years, Joyce actively participated in fundraising activities, including selling car raffle tickets, and she proudly wore the Walk t-shirts that she earned.
When Joyce was diagnosed with cancer in late 2015, she took a short break from volunteering, but she returned in 2016 and adjusted her volunteer schedule to accommodate her treatments. Sadly, Joyce became too ill to volunteer in November, and she died on December 21, 2016 at age 79. Joyce is greatly missed by all of us at the Southeastern Virginia chapter, and we will long remember the joy and love she brought to our office.
